An Opportunity
by luberly
Summary: Joe's got a date but Steph doesn't. Who will she take to a friend's wedding when Ranger is out of town? This is a short one-off told from Stephanie's POV. These characters do not belong to me, I'm just borrowing for my pleasure and hopefully yours.


Hi, I know some of you are hoping for the next RangeWoman story. Unfortunately, I'm not ready with it yet. I should be soon though. I just need to work out the general premise and then I should be able to post the first chapter in a day or so.

This story is a one-off little thing I've had hanging around for a while. Enjoy.

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I couldn't believe it, I had three days to find a killer date to Cathy Bartalowski's wedding and Ranger was out of town. I had originally planned on going to the wedding stag, but that changed as soon as I heard that Morelli was taking some hotshot FBI agent. Apparently she used to be a model and anyone who's seen her has called me with condolences.

If I'm honest, the only man I'd want to go to a wedding with is currently in the wind and there's nothing I can do about that, so I did the next best thing. I called Leister. "Beautiful, what can I do for you?"

"Actually, I need to know if there are any new guys at RangeMan that fit into the hunky hot category. I need a date for a friend's wedding because Morelli is going with some super model or something."

"Why don't you want to go with me? I definitely fit into the hunky hot category."

"Joe knows that you and I are just friends Les. If I went with Ranger, it would be different, but he's out of town. If I go with somebody that he doesn't know, he won't know what to think."

"Well, Joe has been out of town for a while so he probably won't know Vince or Roy. They're both ladies men so I'm sure either would suffice."

I thought for a moment and imagined both men in a suit. Roy was hot in an athletic sort of way, but I couldn't picture him out on the dance floor. Vince on the other hand was tall, fit and very handsome. He definitely fit the mould I was looking for. I thanked Leister and said, "I think I'll ask Vince. I'll make the purpose clear to him so he doesn't get the wrong idea. Is he around today?"

"Yeah Beautiful, he's on monitor duty until 18 hundred or 6PM this evening."

I thanked Leister and went into my bedroom to find a nice outfit to wear this afternoon when I visited RangeMan. I didn't want anything overly sexy but I also didn't want a 'girl next door' look either. I settled on a nice pair of fitted jeans, some killer heels and a cute plaited blouse over a matching tank top.

I drove to RangeMan and parked in my usual spot beside Ranger's Cayenne. When I walked out of the elevator on the 5th floor, I was greeted with hugs from everyone I saw. It hadn't been that long since I was there, but since I no longer worked here, I didn't see the guys as often as I'd like. I stopped working for RangeMan when things were going well between Joe and me. He hated that I worked here, so I quit.

I felt silly afterwards and never really talked to Ranger about coming back and then he went into the wind. That was 6 months ago. Luckily, some of the things I learnt while working at RangeMan have come in handy and I have been pretty successful with my skips. I haven't had any problems paying rent and I even have a little nest egg in my savings account.

I found Vince sitting in the monitor room keeping an eye on the surveillance cameras. He saw me and wrapped me in a bear hug, lifting me off the ground and grinning at me. I hadn't ever really looked at Vince from any point of view other than a friend before, so I was a little bit pleased when I realised that he was very handsome. He had a partial dimple in his cheek and he had a very straight nose and strong chin. He has light brown hair that just falls in a sexy coif on his forehead and his eyes were a hazel colour that seemed to change depending on the angle of the light.

I looked up at Vince and smiled. I asked, "Vince, would you consider doing me a huge favour?"

Vince put me down and replied, "Just name it Bomber."

"A friend of mine is getting married on Saturday and I need a date. I was hoping that you be willing to go with me?"

"I'd be honoured Steph. I'm assuming this has something to do with Morelli's model?"

I grimaced and nodded. He smiled and said, "I can be just the doting date that you need. It's too bad that Ranger can't be here because he'd enjoy trying to make Morelli jealous. I'll fill in and do my best to help you out Bomber. I will pretend to be the best boyfriend at the wedding but I promise to be a perfect gentleman afterward. I know you and Ranger have something undefined or unacknowledged going on between the two of you so I won't do anything to get in the way."

Wow, Vince is pretty smart. I wondered if Leister talked to him and filled him in on the reason I wanted a date. If not, he was pretty accurate on my requirements. "Thanks Vince."

"No worries Stephanie. How about we go out tomorrow night, we'll go somewhere nice where the Burg gossips can see us. That way, when I'm your date for the wedding, we'll already be old news. Also, it won't seem so contrived." I agreed and we made plans for him to pick me up at my apartment the following evening at 6:30.

The next day, I brought in three skips and each time I went to the station to turn them over to the police, I was met with looks of pity and heard the whispers behind my back. I rolled my eyes each time and laughed at the pettiness of trying to out-date Joe. We were over and I really shouldn't care if he has moved on, but for some reason, it hurt that he did it so quickly.

Technically, we've only been broken up for 3 weeks, but Joe has been out of town for about 2 months working with the FBI on some assignment or other. If the rumours about Joe are true, he's been dating this FBI agent for more than the 3 weeks we've been apart, so maybe that's why I am so bothered by her being his date. Regardless of when they started dating, I just wanted him to see that I have moved on.

Joe knows that I've in love with Ranger, so he'd expect to see me with him. Unfortunately, Ranger is out of town so I'll have to make do with Vince. We'll go out tonight and make our debut in the Burg. This way, when I turn up at the wedding with him as a date, it won't seem to so out of place. Maybe we can even put on a good show wherever we end up tonight.

I returned to the office and turned in my three body receipts. Lula asked me if I'd like to join her shopping that evening but I turned her down. "I have a date tonight, so I should get home and get ready."

Connie raised her eyebrows and said, "Who's your date?"

"Vince Green. He works at RangeMan."

Lula thought for a moment and asked, "Is that the hot one with light brown hair and the amazing eyes?"

I nodded, smiled and told them I'd tell them all about the date the following day. I rushed back to my apartment and riffled through my closet looking for something to wear. I already had a killer dress for the wedding but I needed something to wear tonight that was date appropriate. I pulled out a blue dress that accentuated my eyes, but I'd worn that once with Ranger and couldn't bring myself to wear it tonight.

I finally found an apple green chiffon dress that I bought ages ago and completely forgot about. The dress was sleeveless and high necked. There was an area of sheer green chiffon at the top of the neck and there was a very low back to the dress so I couldn't wear a bra. The skirt of the dress was very full and flared out if I twirled, and once I put the dress on, I was happy with my appearance.

I was just finishing up with my lipstick when there was a knock at the door. I was a bit nervous and laughed at the thought that a date actually knocked and didn't just break-in. I ran to the door and opened without looking, assuming it was Vince. Instead, I found Joe standing there looking handsome in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Hey Cupcake, I am in town until after the wedding and I thought I'd come by and see how you're doing."

"Hi Joe. I'm doing well, but as you can see, I'm on my way out the door. Maybe we can catch up another time." Just then, Vince walked down the hall. He was wearing a pair of fitted blue jeans and a blue button-up long-sleeved shirt. He looked amazing and I grinned as he walked towards me and pulled me into a kiss, ignoring Joe.

Joe cleared his throat and I turned red as Vince let me go. I looked over at Joe and said, "Sorry Joe, this is Vince Green. We're on our way out so I'll give you a call later and we can meet for coffee or something."

Joe nodded and left as Vince followed me into my apartment so I could get my bag. Moments later, Vince led me out to his car, and in true RangeMan style, his personal car was a classic Charger. Vince revved the engine and we pulled out of my parking lot, passing Joe on the way. I looked over at Vince and he said, "I think that kiss got under Joe's skin." I grinned and nodded.

A few minutes later, Vince pulled into the parking lot at Rossini's. He helped me out of the car and put his arm around me and led me into the restaurant. When we walked into the restaurant, the hostess looked Vince up and down and didn't even look in my direction. Vince was well aware of the effect he had on women so he made a point to say, "Hi, I'm Vince Green. Miss Plum and I have a reservation for two."

He smiled wider when the hostess finally looked at me and looked open mouthed at me in shock. He then pulled me close, kissed my temple and then leaned in closer to the hostess and asked if we could have a secluded table for privacy. Moments later, a waiter came and led us to our table. As we walked through the restaurant, I could feel everyone's eyes on us and Vince was taking his role very seriously. He reached back and took my hand, pulling me towards him, kissing me lightly on the lips.

We were led to a small table at the back of the restaurant that was as private as you could get at Rossini's. Instead of sitting across from me, Vince insisted on sitting beside me so he could put his arm around my waist and pull me close. He was leaning over and whispering in my ear, causing me to laugh when the waiter came to take our drinks order. Vince looked up and ordered a bottle of wine and some water and then went back to the story he was telling me.

I looked around and could see that almost the entire restaurant was staring at us, so I smiled at Vince and then spent the rest of the evening simply having a good time. I could see the phones taking photos. I could see people whispering and looking at us so I decided to give them something to whisper about. I leaned over to Vince and said, "Just go along with me." Vince smiled, nodded and met me in the middle as I moved in for a kiss. Instead of a peck, I gave him a proper kiss, one with tongue and everything. When we pulled apart, Vince was grinning at me and said, "Ranger is one lucky man, but you should probably be the one to tell him about this before he hears about it from the Burg grapevine."

I laughed and asked, "How would I do that? He's in the wind."

"Leave him a voicemail. He'll pick it up before talking to anyone else. If you don't and he finds out another way, we'll both be in trouble."

I acknowledged that possibility so I pulled out my phone, called Ranger and was surprised when he answered. "Babe."

"Ranger, are you OK? I didn't expect for you to answer. I was just going to leave you a voicemail."

"I'm fine. I'm in D.C. I'll be back in Trenton next week sometime. What did you want to tell me?"

"I just wanted to give you a head's up about some rumours that are going around the Burg. I'm going to a wedding on Saturday and Vince is going to be my date. There's a long story to go along with it, but we're out at Rosinni's tonight giving a cover so the date at the wedding doesn't seem forced or last minute."

Ranger laughed and said, "That explains the photo's I've already seen of the two of you kissing. Was Vince your first choice for this mission?"

"No, but my first choice is out of town."

"Thanks for letting me know. Now I don't have to kill Vince when I return. I'll see you as soon as I can get back Babe. Have fun at the wedding."

Vince was watching me as I spoke on the phone and raised an eyebrow when I hung up. "Ranger is back in D.C. and he's already heard about our date. I cleared things up with him so he doesn't have to kill you."

Vince laughed and then waved at the waiter to get our bill. We left the restaurant after Vince paid the bill and then stopped at Dairy Queen for some ice cream before Vince drove me home and walked me up to my apartment. Like a true gentleman and because there was no audience, Vince kissed me on the cheek and said goodnight after checking to make sure there nobody was lurking in my apartment.

I changed and got ready for bed and sat down in front of the television to see if I could find something to watch. My mind was on Ranger's return and the upcoming wedding, so I was startled out of my head when my phone rang.

"Stephanie, it's your mother. What's this I hear about you out with a young man? I want you to bring him for dinner tomorrow night."

"Mom, I was out on a date and I think it's too early in our relationship to bring him home to meet my family."

"I don't care. Do you know what it's like to hear about you necking with a total stranger? It's embarrassing. Bring him tomorrow for dinner and then I can at least tell people that I've met him and that he's a nice man. "

"I'll have to let you know tomorrow. I will call him tomorrow and let you know."

The next morning, I walked into the Bond's office and was bombarded with questions. I answered as many as possible and left others unanswered. The ones I refused to answer related to Joe and Ranger. I wasn't prepared to answer things about either man so I flat out refused. Connie seemed to accept this but Lula just wouldn't let it go. After the third time Lula implied that Ranger wouldn't be too happy if he comes back and finds me all friendly with one of him men, I left. I didn't want to lie to them but I also didn't want to tell them the truth because I didn't want the fact that I was playing a role with Vince to be part of the next big Burg gossip titbits.

I went after one of the two skips I was given and after exchanging him for a body receipt at the police station, I drove over to RangeMan to talk to Vince. When I explained my mother's request, he suggested that we just go along with it and break up a week or so after the wedding. Vince suggested that one of the reasons we will break up is because of my mother. I liked the idea of blaming her for a man leaving me and quickly agreed to the plan.

I went after my second skip but was unable to find him and gave up around 4pm. I went home, showered and got ready for dinner at my parents. Vince collected me twenty past 5 and we arrived at my parents about twenty minutes before six. My grandmother and mother we standing at the door when we arrived. Vince walked around and helped me out of the car and then walked me up to the house.

My mother opened the door and welcomed Vince while my Grandmother was looking him up and down. She sidled up beside me and stage whispered, "He's a looker isn't he? I can't tell if he has as nice a package as that darker skinned one, but he's nice to look at."

I smiled at Grandma Mazur and begged her to keep her hands to herself. I told her that Vince was really nervous to meet my family and her groping at his package might chase him away. I also laid the seed for our break up the following week by explaining that meeting my family so early in our relationship has really freaked Vince out.

I looked over and caught Vince's eye. He looked like he was in pain because he had been cornered by my mother who was peppering him with questions about his family, where he lived, the car he drove and then finally his job. The look on my mother's face visibly fell when Vince told her he worked at RangeMan. Her tone turned condescending and then she retreated into the kitchen leaving Grandma and I to introduce Vince to my father.

When it came to RangeMan, my mother had always been polite when face to face with Ranger or one of his men. In private, she always sided with Joe. She thought that they were all thugs and mercenaries who did anything for money. I tried to explain that she misunderstood and that the work they did for money was for the government. It was in the interests of our country, so it wasn't as bad as it sounded.

Dinner was worse than I ever expected. My mother was rude to Vince, she snapped at Grandma Mazur and she even yelled at my father. As soon as dessert was finished, I stood, looked at my mother and said, "Vince and I are leaving. Goodbye mother."

"You haven't even had coffee yet. What will people think if you leave so early?"

I laughed and said, "Maybe they'll think my mother was a complete bitch to my date and we left because I'm so embarrassed by you for a change."

My mother was spluttering but before she could find her voice, Vince and I were at the curb. She appeared at the doorway and shook her head as we drove away. I apologised to Vince for my mother but he was more concerned for me. "Do you have to go through that on every visit?"

"Pretty much. If I go alone, she spends the whole time trying to convince me to call the son or nephew of one of her friends. She's even tricked me into blind dates over dinner in the past. It's not all that much fun, but I get food, so it's not a total loss. Also, Grandma Mazur is a hoot, so she takes some of the spotlight off of me from time to time."

Vince smiled and said, "She is a laugh. She tells amusing stories. Your mother's behaviour is a perfect excuse for our breakup later. I will say that I can't possibly marry a woman and be stuck with her as a mother-in-law, no matter how wonderful you are."

I thanked Vince and he promised to pick me up the next afternoon for the wedding that was scheduled for 3PM. Vince would pick me up at 2:15 so we had plenty of time to get parked and to the church before it started. I waved to Vince and then climbed the stairs to my apartment. Once inside, I thought about how my mother treated Vince and it made me very angry. Vince is a nice guy and if I really had wanted to date him, my mother just ruined that chance for me. No wonder Ranger didn't want to date me. He didn't want to put up with my mother.

After a viewing of Ghostbusters, I called it quits for the day and got ready for bed. I was brushing my teeth when the batman theme song went off. I spit the toothpaste out of my mouth and ran out to the coffee table where I had left my phone. I answered it with a "Hold on a sec, I'm in the middle of brushing my teeth and I have a mouth full of toothpaste."

I ran back in the bathroom and finished rinsing my mouth and then put the phone back to my ear. "Ranger, how are you?"

"I'm good. I think I'm doing better than Vince though. Your mother really put him through the wringer this evening didn't she?"

"She did. I'm so angry with her. Vince is a nice guy and he's my friend. There was no need to be so rude to him. Speaking of which, how do you know how Vince is feeling about dinner with my family?"

"I called in to check up on things and Vince was there. He asked me how I could stand your family and I just shrugged it off. Your mother doesn't talk to me like she did to Vince, so I can only assume she likes me more."

I laughed at this and said, "I think you probably scare her more than Vince."

I could hear a smile in Ranger's reply, "That might be true. Do I scare you Babe?"

"I'm not physically scared of you Ranger. I know you'll never do anything to hurt me physically, but I have had concerns about other things in the past."

"What kind of things Babe?"

"I fear for my heart. I'm afraid if I let you in that you'll break it into a million pieces and it will never heal, just like Humpty Dumpty."

Ranger was silent for a little while and then said, "Humpty Dumpty never had RangeMan as protection Babe."

I didn't really understand what he meant so I said, "If I become Humpty Dumpty, I'm not sure RangeMan would be in a position to put me back together Ranger."

"That's not what I meant Babe. I'm really not good at this stuff. Perhaps I would find it easier to talk face-to-face. I'll be back in town on Tuesday evening. Can I stop by your place?"

"Wow, you're asking? I'm speechless. Normally you just show up when you want to talk to me or watch me sleep."

"I know Babe, but I feel that this time, I should get your permission."

I was really confused. I didn't understand what was going on, but clearly Ranger had something on his mind. Perhaps he read between the lines of my comment about getting my heart broken and he wants to clear things up and make sure I don't expect anything that will happen between us. He has told me in several different ways that he doesn't do relationships. I've come to accept that fact, but I don't like it. I especially don't like it because I want a relationship with him. I don't need the white picket fence or a husband with a 9-5 job, but I want to be with him in some capacity.

"Babe? Are you there?"

"Oh, sorry, I got lost in my thoughts. Yeah, you can come by. I'll probably need consoling. Wink, wink. That's the day that Vince and I are going to stage our break-up. "

Ranger laughed and said, "I'd be happy to console you Babe. I'll see you Tuesday and have fun at the wedding, just don't make Joe too jealous or I might have to find a new employee after Joe arrests his ass for assault."

The next day, I stayed in bed late and relaxed until it was time to get ready for the wedding. Vince arrived exactly on time and complimented me on my ice-blue halter-top dress that fit in all the right places and flared out at the hem. I fell in love with this dress when I first saw it. When I showed the dress to Lula, she insisted that I try it on. When I came out of the dressing room, she gushed at how good I looked.

Vince agreed with Lula and he didn't look so bad himself. He was wearing a greyish brown suit and a dark maroon shirt and matching tie. He looked almost as good as Ranger did in a suit, almost. I hugged Vince and complimented him on his appearance and then followed him to his car.

When we arrived at the church, I greeted the many people I knew, but I avoided the corner where Joe and his date were standing for as long as possible. In fact, Joe and is date Emily had to come over to us to say hello because Vince was telling a story that had a huge group of guests enthralled. Joe poked me on the shoulder and I turned to see his smiling face.

Vince paused in his story momentarily to wrap his arm around my waist and kiss me on the temple. As soon as Vince resumed his story, I let Joe lead me a little ways away to introduce me to his date. "Cupcake, this is Emily. We've been working together on this FBI case and she agreed to come back to Trenton for a few days and be my date."

I turned to Emily and smiled. "Hi Emily, I'm Stephanie. It's nice to meet you."

Emily gave me a guarded smile and shook my extended hand. "Joe has told me a lot about you. It sounds like you lead a very exciting life."

I grimaced at Joe and said, "I'm sure most of what he has told you wasn't my fault."

Joe laughed and said, "Don't worry Cupcake, I didn't give away all of your secrets."

I watched Emily's lips purse every time Joe called my Cupcake, but I didn't care. If she dated Joe, she'd have to accept that we had a history and would always be friends. I watched as she leaned over and whispered something in Joe's ear. He closed his eyes as if he was annoyed and then said, "I'm sorry Cupcake, we need to go take our seats. I'll talk to you more after the wedding."

I waved at Joe and Emily and returned to where Vince was holding court. He really did have the attention of most of the wedding guests as he told his story. When Vince finished his story, we were led into the church and took our seats. The wedding was beautiful and the Bride and Groom were radiant.

Afterwards, the reception was at the VFW Hall. As everyone gathered, I watched as Vince was once again was surrounded by men and women hanging off his every word. I stood back watching Vince shine, jumping slightly as Joe walked up beside me and said, "Everybody seems to really like your date."

I smiled as I nodded. "Yeah, Vince is pretty great. Emily seems nice."

Joe smiled and said, "She's OK. I needed a date and she kept making passes at me so I thought an ex-model might be a good enough date to make you jealous. It was a stupid idea, and now I'm stuck with a bitchy date that is well aware of why I asked her here in the first place. It was a stupid idea especially since you've clearly moved on."

I laughed and said, "I have moved on Joe, but it's not exactly what you think. Vince is my Emily. He works for Ranger and we have been putting on a bit of a show for the Burg ever since I heard that you were coming with a model. Don't get me wrong Joe, I think it's better now that we're no longer together. We were miserable when we were together and we spent most of our time fighting. Since my first choice was unavailable, Vince volunteered to join me for the wedding and he got into the role."

"Let me guess, Ranger was your first choice?"

I nodded and Joe sighed. "I always knew there was more between you than you would admit to me."

"I do care about him and I know he cares about me, but I'm not sure we can ever be more than just friends. He doesn't seem to think he deserves to be happy because he doesn't want to leave behind a widow and children."

"Is that what you want though? Do you want to marry Ranger and have little Ranger babies?"

"I don't know. It's not high on my list of things to do this month or even this year, but I wouldn't rule it out at some point in the future." I stopped talking and looked around because I felt a tingle on the back of my neck. I knew Ranger was somewhere in the room but I couldn't see him. I continued to talk to Joe and hoped that Ranger could hear me.

"Actually, to tell you the truth, what I want from Ranger is pretty simple. I don't want the whole Burg life with the big wedding. I don't want to pop out babies by the dozen. All I want is someone to come home to every day that I can trust, rely on, and talk to. I want a true partner in life."

Joe looked at me like I was mad and said, "I guess we really do want different things. You want nothing that I want, so it's probably a good thing that you're ready to move on. I'll be back in Trenton in a few months, and I'm hoping that we can still be friends Cupcake."

I smiled at Joe and said, "Despite the fact that we're no longer together, I do care about you Joe. I would really like to stay friends with you, but I will ask one thing of you."

Joe raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I'll try my best to stop calling you Cupcake."

I grinned and said, "Thanks Joe. You should return to your date. She looks like she's pretty mad."

Joe grimaced and said, "I'm pretty sure the sex I could have had this weekend isn't worth the pain in the ass that woman has been this whole weekend. Don't get me wrong, I'll still let her throw herself at me, but I'm not sure it'll be worth it."

I laughed and watched as Joe walked away and made my way back to Vince. He smiled down at me and hugged me to him and then excused himself from the crowd surrounding him. When we were away from the group he said, "There was this one bridesmaid that was eyeing me up earlier. Can you get her details for me so I can call her after we break up?"

I smiled at Vince and said, "Sure thing. Maybe we can break up a little ahead of schedule if you'd like so you can go home with her tonight?"

Vince looked at me like I just offered him a million dollars. "What's up Steph? Did something happen?"

I grinned and said, "My first choice arrived. I want to spend the evening with him."

The smile on Vince's face fell as he scanned the room for Ranger. "I don't see him. Are you sure he's here?"

I nodded and said, "Let's get through dinner and have a dance or two and then we can break up. I will head home early after saying goodbye to people and you can hook up with your bridesmaid. I'm sure I can get a ride home." I winked at Vince and led him to our table.

Dinner went smoothly and Vince even got in a few quips about my mother. I pretended to be a little annoyed with Vince and the others at my table could tell. We danced a couple of times after the food was served and to make things perfect for our break-up, my mother called my cell phone. Vince answered it because I was at the bar, and the conversation must not have gone well because as soon as I returned to the table, Vince told me that it was over. He didn't want to date a woman whose mother was such a monster.

When Vince walked away from me, the people at our table tried to console me. I told them that it was OK, Vince and I had only been out a few times so it wasn't like I was in love with him. When they asked why he broke things off, I took the opportunity to teach my mother a lesson. I said, "Vince is a really nice guy, but my mother didn't approve of him and made that very clear to him. He didn't like me enough to put up with my mother so he broke up with me. My mother always interferes in my life and I really don't understand why she can't just let me live my life and love how I want to love. It's like she thinks she can do a better job living my life than I can."

After Vince hooked up with the bridesmaid, Joe came over to talk to me. "Hey Steph, how did the big break-up go?" I smiled and said, "It went pretty well. Vince has already moved on." I laughed as I pointed him out on the dance floor with Mitsy Mullins. I didn't have the heart to tell him that she was almost as bad as Joyce Barnhardt. I'd let him find that out for himself.

"Do you need a ride home Steph?"

I shook my head and said, "I'll get a lift from Ranger."

Joe frowned and said, "I thought he was out of town?"

"He's back. He arrived when I was talking to you earlier."

"I never saw him."

"I'm going to tell you something that I haven't even told Ranger. I can feel him. I know when he's around. I get a sort of tingle in the back of my neck whenever he's near. I felt it earlier and he's the only one who does that to me."

I saw Joe look over my shoulder and then he gave me a sad smile and said, "You're right. He's standing in the corner watching us."

I turned and looked to where Joe was pointing. I watched as the expression on Ranger's face transformed from his blank face to a full blown 1000-wat smile as he walked towards me. Joe pushed me and said, "Go get him Cupcake."

I met Ranger in the middle of the dance floor and he wrapped his arms around me. He guided me around the dance floor as if it were made especially for us. When the music ended and another song began, Ranger leaned down and said, "Did you mean what you said to Joe earlier? Do you really not care about having the Burg lifestyle?"

I looked up at Ranger and nodded my head. "Ranger, the Burg lifestyle is what I've been running from my whole life. I don't want to be a stay-at-home mother who cooks and cleans all day. I like my job, I like my independence and I like that my pet is a rodent."

"Let's get out of here Babe. I have things to tell you and then I want to show you something."

I nodded and made the rounds saying goodbye to the wedding party. When I got to Mitsy and Vince, I smiled and hugged Vince. Mitsy was a little annoyed so I smiled at her and said, "Vince and I were teaching my mother a lesson. He was never my boyfriend. He's a good friend and you hadn't better hurt him or I'll send my partner Lula after you."

Mitsy paled and Vince leaned down and said, "All I'm after is a one night stand Steph, so there's little chance that I'll get too hurt." I smiled up at him and waved as I walked out with Ranger's arm around my shoulder.

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Let me know what you think.


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